I want to tell you about some resources that have blessed us big time in the high school homeschool years. I had never really considered high school homeschool video courses until Compass Classroom Visual Latin came along. We’ve shared a love of Visual Latin for years. Then…
High School Homeschool Video Courses
Then, we were introduced to WordUp! Latin and Greek root words and Economics for Everybody. Another homeschool year we loved Dave Raymond’s American History – as an elective. Yes, we’ve had plenty of American History, we simply loved this so much we counted it as an elective. We learned The Grammar of Poetry and Western Culture: A Christian Approach to The Great Books. We have been so very blessed, pleasantly surprised and absolutely tickled at how these resources have stepped in to meet needs in so many ways.
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Learning with Dave Raymond’s American History (have I mentioned how much I am learning? And isn’t that one of the blessings of homeschooling? Continuing education for mom!)
High School Homeschool Video Courses for Classical Learning
Now, some homeschooling families are involved in a co-op or other homeschool organization to fill out those high school graduation requirements. Others pay a tutor or sign up for online courses. These are all wonderful ways to meet the needs of homeschooling high school. And I think that is yet another beauty of homeschooling – meeting the needs in the way that works best for our family and the ways that our children learn best. All the while – helping mama!
For our family, we have found it is such a huge blessing to invite master teachers in each of these subjects – into our own home! We can tailor our schedule and pace. We can pause, take notes, go back and review. It may not be for you but it is perfect for us.
Plus, if you think about it, the one time purchase can be used for all of our children. So it is a wise investment in the long run. We have high school courses for our elementary-aged children already!
- & 2. Grammar of Poetry 3. & 4. Old Western Culture 5. Visual Latin
Guess what? Our eldest three children are each visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. Each one learns a different way. AND yet these High School Homeschool Video Courses step up and meet their learning needs. It has been amazing to be a part of. I share about that in more detail in each of my reviews.
I have full reviews of most of these resources at The Curriculum Choice. Here’s a little preview of each, below, but you can also head over to Compass Classroom and try a few free lessons…
American History – I believe it says a great deal about a homeschool curriculum when we are doing night school on a Saturday night. In the summer. They ask, “Are we doing American History tonight?” That would be Compass Classroom American History. Dave Raymond’s American History! And my high school senior says, “It’s awesome because it always brings everything back to Jesus and is done with a Biblical perspective.”
Modernity – Here I am again. It’s summer and we are enjoying learning history on a Saturday night! True statement. See, Dave Raymond’s Modernity is now available. And since we enjoyed American History so very much (as an elective even!) last year, we find ourselves soaking up another volume of this fantastic curriculum. Yes we do. It is digital homeschool curriculum we love.
Visual Latin – Warning. The free lessons you may download and watch will have you hooked. Watch them with your children only if you want to hear… Laughter. Soon followed by, “Can we watch another?” Then after the second introductory lesson, “Can we watch just one more?”
WordUp! Vocabulary from Latin and Greek Roots – “Dwane Thomas of Visual Latin fame stars in a zany new show teaching Latin and Greek roots, as well as hundreds of English words. Utilizing a new approach to learning, WordUp! seriously expands a student’s grasp of the vocabulary used in literature, science, and standardized tests.”
Economics for Everybody – we took a brief look at this course last year. This homeschool year we are gaining that 1/2 credit needed for graduation. We are impressed and appreciative of the Biblical worldview. Since we are in a routine of Visual Latin and WordUp! in the afternoons and/or evenings, this fits nicely into our weeks. Of course, us parents sure wish we learned economics this way! (Now my third high schooler is using this High School Homeschool Video Course).
Homeschool Made Simple – This is a video series for the homeschool mama – for me! And let me tell you, it came at just the time I needed it. Are you thinking about homeschooling? Are you starting your first year of homeschooling soon? Maybe you have homeschooled a couple of years and hit a bump in the road and need a new approach. Maybe, like me, you are close to graduating your first and have homeschooled for nearly two decades?
Watching Constitutional Literacy by Michael Farris and Apologia Ministries.
How We Use High School Homeschool Video Courses
How do we fit these fantastic High School Homeschool Video Courses in? I’ve been sharing now and then how and when we enjoy these resources via Instagram and my homeschool wrap ups. Last year I shared a detailed explanation of how we worked these courses into our days in Night Classes and Other Benefits of Homeschool. We have also found that they work well as older children are waking up in the morning. They work well to watch the lectures in the afternoon too. It simply depends on the day!
Do you do night school with your older ones too? Apologia’s Constitutional Literacy was just best for us in the evenings last school year. The younger ones were in bed and we could focus on the tougher subject material. Plus have the time to do follow up discussion. Other subjects we’ve done in the evenings? Tapestry of Grace reading and movies, Visual Latin and WordUp! Even a math lesson.
The Grammar of Poetry – We have a love of poetry. Robert Frost, Shel Silverstein, and many of those in 100 Best Loved Poems by Dover Publications. Yet I felt – and our older children asked if – we could dig deeper and study about poetry. The art of poetry to be exact.
Great Books Video Courses – This year my high school junior and senior tackled one of the more challenging courses, Old Western Culture. This is a course on the Christian Approach to the Great Books. We paired this course as a supplemental resource with our ancient history Tapestry of Grace studies. This has made for an incredibly rich year and the equivalent of two full high school credits for each of my students.
What about Tapestry of Grace, you ask? I thought you were doing Tapestry of Grace? Yes! We are. Western Culture is helping us through those classic books that are included in Year 1 of Tapestry of Grace. Epic books like The Iliad and The Aeneid. Discussions of the great philosophers. It is a richness I’d always hoped for my children and couldn’t quite offer. With our age range and all the work load of high school, special attention needed by my younger ones and the hands on types of learning my middle girl needs, I felt like we simply weren’t getting to the discussion and levels of learning that my high schoolers craved. Western Culture meets that in so many ways (and this is only after using it for two weeks!).
The Grammar of Poetry is defining and clarifying all the beauty of writing. The artistry of words put to music – oh it works so well and blends with all we are studying. These two courses complement and enrich and meet needs. Even the younger two find their way around and listen in.
More Homeschool Video Courses We Recommend
Video courses we’ve loved through our years of homeschooling:
- Constitutional Literacy – an extensive, high school level resource from Apologia and HSLDA’s Michael Farris. Constitutional Literacy is something we are passionate about as a family. We are raising future voters! We love that Constitutional Literacy is led by an authority in this area of history and government. And the course presents with the tools needed – a student workbook and a DVD series on the history, theory and application of the Constitution of the United States.
- Apologia’s Online Academy – my auditory and independent learning style son really thrived with Apologia’s online physics course.
*updated to say – We are now going through Compass Classroom resources for high school again with my third high schooler and rising 8th grader.
More on our Long Haul Homeschool Curriculum Choices.
In summary, these are trusted and excellent resources. High School Homeschool Video Courses to invest in and use over again. Use as your first choice or as supplemental material. Either way you and your students will enjoy rich learning!
Please let me know if you have any questions about Compass Classroom and other video courses!
– originally published October 2015.
What a fabulously helpful post. Thank you for doing it. I am making a list of video courses, and other tidbits from this post so we can incorporate them into our homeschool. I agree that sometimes things are more interesting in video form, sometimes the experts just clarify things like I can’t, and sometimes I like to just sit back and participate in the learning myself!
-Rhonda H in AR
You said it well Rhonda! Thanks so much 🙂
I just found your blog and I love it!!! I love this post. My oldest is 8th grade, and we are moving into high school work. I’ve realized that I really like having video support. I will really go through the links you’ve provided and see if any of them will be a good fit for our family. Thanks.